Perfect Blue
by Sadie Woods
Summary: After a bad day at the Preventers, Duo heads to a club for advice.


Disclaimer: I own no part of Gundam Wing and therefore make no money off of it. Seriously, if I owned Gundam Wing do you think I'd have Relena live past the point where she told Heero to kill her?

Warnings: shounen ai, slight swearing, some OOC

Pairings: 1+2

A/N: This is the first fanfic I've actually completed, so I hope it's pretty good. I had a lot of fun writing it, so enjoy!

Summary: After a bad day at the Preventers, Duo heads to a club for advice.

It was a slow night. Usually the club was swarming with people who were busy dancing to the rhythm or practically having sex in the shadowy corners. Not many people were expected to come in of course, it was Monday and a day back to work after all. Still a few regulars took up their usual seats, sipping slowly from the _Perfect Blue_'s house special. A jazzy tune reverberated from the unused dance floor, and the bartender, a man wearing a nametag with the name 'James' on it, sighed while leaning against the counter.

"Bit early fer ye to arrive Duo." One person, previously absentmindedly tracing the rim of his glass started, and cast blank eyes at the bartender. He had chestnut hair in a braid past his waist and violet eyes that were usually brimming with life. Today wasn't usually though, and he picked his glass up with a sigh.

"I came straight from work today." James raised an eyebrow. "Straight from work? It's one in the afternoon!" Duo scowled, tipping back the glass with a long gulp. "Work ended at noon today." Ah, that would be the reason. "Where did ye spend yer time at ta get 'ere an hour later?" "I walked." Okay, something was definitely wrong when Duo waked an hour from work at noon.

James put down the glass he was wiping and stared Duo straight in the eyes. "What happened?" Duo tried a half-hearted denial of a problem, before giving up and slumping in his seat. "I messed up." James snorted. "Be more specific, you've messed up a lot of things." Wrong thing to say as Duo buried his head in his arms, voice depressingly low.

"I was an idiot. I nearly failed the case and got used against the force." Knowing better than to lay a comforting hand on Duo's shoulder when he was in this mood, James filled the glass in front of Duo to the brim. "It might help to share your problems." He shrugged. "Might not make ye feel better, but it might make everyone else just as miserable."

A muffled snort before violet eyes met his. "Ye sure ye want to hear my problems?" James shrugged, looking around at the nearly deserted club. "Not like there's anything else fer me ta do. Besides, never stopped yer complaining before." Duo scowled. "You an' a crowd hang on my every word. I get more advice about approaching Heero than people wantin' a date, an' ye know how many of those I get."

James laughed. "Considerin' ye always are at the same seat and always stick there when not dragged off to do somethin' else, yeah. Yet ye never accept a single offer." "I don't like them. All they want is a cheap piece o' meat. I much prefer Heero, even if he seems to hate me. I try so hard, and all he does is call me a baka."

Duo's tone was getting depressed again. Time to steer the conversation back on track. "So," James prodded "What happened today exactly?" Duo sighed and took a long drink from the glass before slamming it down for a refill. "If yer so sure ye wanna hear it…" "Jus' get on with it!" "Well, it all started this morning when we got a new case…"

Bump Bump Bump Heero's eye twitched more with each successive noise emanating from his partner's direction. Bump Bump The twitch was turning epileptic now, Heero's fingers gripping the mouse in a chokehold.

Bump Bump Their friendship (or at least Heero like to think so, but he had never really had any experience with friendship before) had lasted through two wars, too many arguments to count, and dealing with Heero's personality; but if Duo didn't stop bouncing that ball against the wall there wouldn't be a braided baka to deal with anymore!

Bump Bump Midway to the wall for a fourth trip, Heero's hand snatched it. White knuckles gripped the ball before slicing it in half where his fingers were. Seeing that his ball didn't return as expected, Duo rolled his chair (how he had managed to convince Lady Une of letting him have that kind of chair Heero had no idea) around to look at Heero questionably.

Meeting still twitching cobalt eyes, Duo looked at him nervously. "Er, Heero? You okay?" Heero didn't reply verbally, preferring to chuck what remained of the rubber ball at Duo's head. It didn't connect, as Duo's speed had him duck before anything could hit him between the eyes.

Instead, the pieces knocked over a now (thankfully) empty coffee cup. Duo stared at what remained of his toy. "You destroyed it! What'd ye do tha' for?!" Heero's answer was no surprise. "Hn." Duo scowled, tossing the remains in the trash and righting the coffee cup. "Well, what'd ya expect, me ta d? We don't have any new cases, I was bored!"

"Maybe you wouldn't have been as bored, Maxwell, if you'd have been working on the paperwork you were assigned and not bouncing that ball against my office wall!" Duo winced; turning around slowly to face who he knew was already at the door. "Hey 'Fei, what's up?" The very annoyed Chinese narrowed his eyes. "It's **Wu**fei, Maxwell, and you'd think you'd know it after the past five years."

Deciding to interrupt before Duo retorted something that undoubtedly would lead to an argument that would last far longer than Heero would be willing to listen to. "What are you in here for Chang?" Wufei blinked. Sure it was monosyllabic, but a whole sentence was a whole sentence with Heero, especially if it wasn't "Mission accepted" or "Mission completed".

Duo was staring too, but more for the reason of wanting to hear that voice when it wasn't saying an insult or the infamous "Hn." God's he must be getting desperate if he could get hard from Heero's voice. Or maybe it was from those scowling lips that he just wanted touching his own…

"Get on with it!" James drawled, just a tad annoyed. "Somehow I get the idea your Heero's lips have nothing to do with your alleged 'mess up'." Duo glared at him with an intensity that rivaled Heero's "I don't have to tell ye anything ye know. I have a right ta tell it the way I want to. Be glad I'm tellin' ye anything, I could be at some other bar where they actually listen without interrupting!" James's mouth, poised for a retort, snapped shut instantly. Pleased, Duo nodded. "That's better. Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted I was telling about…"

Wufei, who had somehow snuck a whole lot closer to Duo while he was daydreaming, chuckled and whispered, "I'd stop drooling if I were you Maxwell." Duo started, and brought his sleeve to wipe his mouth, embarrassed to find that he actually HAD been drooling. Wufei cleared his throat, sharing a look with Heero before continuing. "We have orders to infiltrate an alleged drug ring a few miles north of here. As soon as we get a hold of some evidence, we are to quickly arrest as many dealers as possible. Key word there is quickly; if we aren't quick enough there's bound to be some trouble and I really don't care to fill out another accident report."

Duo winced, remembering well the café that had accidentally been caught in the crossfire the last time he had had to fill out an accident report. "I'll drive." He offered a cocky grin on his face. Not even a second later, two voices growled "No!" before it was decided that Wufei got the keys.

"I'll go get the car." Wufei informed, shooting another indecipherable look towards Heero. "You two should go get into civilian attire in the locker room **together**." Stress was put on the word 'together' and Duo was about to ask Wufei what exactly he was insinuating (with a few added explicatives of course) before Heero grabbed his arm loosely.

"Chang is in charge of this one. Obey orders Duo." Getting dragged off to the locker room mumbling how Heero had absolutely NO idea what kind of orders Wufei was hinting at and how that made Heero the most oblivious man on the face of the Earth, Duo complete missed the mouthed word 'thanks.' Heero sent to Wufei, motioning towards Duo and the locker room before he followed with a hint of a smile on his lips.

By now, a fairly large crowd had gathered around Duo and James, hanging on his every word as if it were the most fascinating thing they had heard all day. Considering it was now 1:30 that was probably true. Still, as Duo paused to gulp down his third house special; they seemed ignorant to the fact that the only bartender hadn't given anyone drinks for the last half-hour.

Tapping his fingers irritatingly against the counter, James rolled his eyes saying, "I really would like to hear the end of this by midnight, Duo." The aforementioned man stuck his tongue out with squinted eyes in a decidedly Duoish manner before flipping James the bird. "You do remember what I said about going to see other bars don't you?" Feigning ignorance of Duo's words, James gave him a pointed look. Sighing something about never being able to win, Duo continued.

The building reputed to be a drug dealing center was in the suburbs, and like any suburban building (in this case a house) looked almost exactly like every other building except that the paintjob was a darker shade of blue.

"Ye sure this is the place?" Duo asked, looking suspiciously at a particular lawn gnome in the front yard. Changing was mostly uneventful, except for the fact that he had had the weirdest feeling of being watched. He had looked around every time the feeling made the hair on his neck stand up, but all he had seen was Heero slipping on a pair of jeans or a ripped T-shirt.

What had he expected? Heero wouldn't sneak a look, and pre-mission nerves had probably made him paranoid. Still, he could've sworn he heard a little choke when he slipped off his uniform slacks and bent down to dig through his locker for clothes.

Getting interrupted from his stroll down memory lane, as the car had been parked in a close side street, he caught an item thrown at him from his partner in the front seat. "Heero?" It was more for affirmation than anything else, but the moment he stepped into the street, Heero turned to him with an unrecognizable expression. "The revolver is for emergencies only. I know you can be trigger-happy, but a shot alerts not just the house but the whole neighborhood. My position as a potential client is the most dangerous, and I'm counting on you to keep me covered."

Duo saluted in a cheery way with a "Yes Sir!" but truthfully he was getting very nervous. He usually got jitters on most cases, but this day's was different. Somehow he could just tell something was going to happen this time, and that instinct was almost never wrong. Therefore, with high trepidation but still obeying orders, Duo staked himself out a spot near stairs leading to what looked like an attic by slipping in through an open window.

He had landed without a sound, and sent Wufei a clear 'okay' motion through another window that Wufei had a revolver aimed and ready at what appeared to be the head honcho. It was going according to plan thus far. Heero pretended to be an acquaintance to get in, but as soon as that was accomplished the dealer struck a look at him. "Git ta the point boy. I don' recognize ye from anywhere an' I always remember who I meet."

Acting his part perfectly, Heero's words seemed believable. His story was that he was a friend of a friend (that so-called friend being the person who ratted to the Preventers in the first place), and that friend having informed Heero of the place having the 'best damned cocaine in existence' and having so been informed, had wanted to verify that fact.

The suspicious look the dealer had when Heero had first entered the house vanished at once. In fact, the moment Heero ended his introduction; a group of five more entered the room, each offering a handshake. So things were going well, which was a very good thing considering how nervous Duo had been at the beginning.

It would have been boring for anyone else to just lay at the top of the stairs, but Duo was actually having fun. Partly because Wufei was shooting him knowing looks and mouthing things about him and Heero that was none of his business, but mostly because Heero was a fine piece of eye candy when in street clothes and at the moment Duo could stare shamelessly without fear of discovery.

The small talk was long over and done with, and the interrogation had just been finished when the time came for the exchanging of goods. The nerves that had previously been quieted with the lack of any real trouble came back with full force. While the top dealer was calmly bargaining with Heero, he made a small gesture that sent one man reaching into his coat.

Damn him if he was going to let Heero down! Reflexes honed from when he was a small child on the streets had him instantly reaching for his holster. "Fck!" Though not actually shouted out loud, the sound was deafening and repetitive in Duo's head. When doing 'normal' jobs of the non-infiltration variety, he was in his Preventers uniform.

Though not necessarily run-of-the-mill office wear, they were comfortable and easy to maneuver in. On Duo's slacks, he always had his holster, and that's obviously where he always had his firearm. Of course, he wasn't in his uniform and therefore didn't have his holster. Since he didn't have his holster, he must've left Heero's revolver in the car.

The chain of events became painfully obvious in a matter of a second, and in that second; there was a flash of light on metal, obvious to Duo by the angle of reflection. What could he do? Wufei obviously had no idea about what was happening or the guy'd be down by now. 'Fei was one of the if not the best sniper on the entire Preventers force after all.

There wasn't any time to think, but Duo was in his prime with on the spot action. Even so, he really should've known better than to jump form twenty feet onto somebody, even if that somebody was about to kill the guy he had loved for two years. For one thing, jumping from that height is bound to hurt somebody, and that somebody wasn't Duo. He wasn't sure exactly what happened, but there was a strange feeling of collapsing underneath him and now the guy wasn't moving.

For that matter Duo wasn't even sure if the guy was breathing. Perhaps even worse was the fact that four men now had firearms pointed at his head. Maybe even worse than that was the fact that one of those firearms was held by the main dealer in one hand with Duo in the other. Okay, time to turn on the old Maxwell charm… Just as he opened his mouth, the sound of the safety clicked off.

"Don' even think 'bout it boy." So much for that idea. Deciding to take a chance, he glanced at Heero. He looked… Shocked? Concerned? Worried? Angry? The look hardened. Angry it was. Inwardly Duo sighed. So he had made a mistake, but he didn't regret it. His life was worth Heero's, if it came to that of course.

"Now ye listen up all o' ye. Yer friend," A quick tug on Duo's collar and a tap of the cool metal against his forehead. "Decided to be an idiot an' jump 'nto a group o' criminals." Another, harder, tap against his forehead. "If ye 'adn't've interfered ye pro'lly woulda even got us too. So listen up, ye take one more step an' yer friend's brains get splattered on the wall!"

Duo dared to glance of again, seeing that stony expression on Heero's face turn icy. What was Heero doing? If he didn't get out of the house soon he'd be in Duo's position! He had to bite is tongue to prevent hissing at Heero just that.

"Now then, since ye seem screwed from all sides; what do ye propose we do?" "I'd suggest dropping those weapons, putting your hands up, and shutting the hell up!" The normally sweet voice was acid, and judging from how quickly everyone dropped their firearms and Duo was pushed away, Quatre had his zero mode face on again.

The moment he was let go he was snatched up; but this time by hands he had wanted around him for a long time. Heero's arms were comforting and warm, but at the moment they were way too tight to breathe. "HeHeHeero?" His voice came out stuttering and even a little breathless. If not from Heero's embrace, than from his closeness.

Heero's voice was cold, stony, and unreachable. "Shut up Duo." It was mixed signals. Heero was (Duo was tentatively referring to it as such) hugging him, but he was also holding him too tightly and withdrawing into the form of talking last used when they had first met. If this was all he could ever expect though, Duo was going to take it.

He was released though and pushed out of arms reach as if Heero was repulsed by his touch. He really should've known better than to think Heero cared, if only just a little. As Quatre and his ever faithful but often silent partner Trowa led every dealer out, Wufei decided to finally show up. Before Duo even got a chance to say a word, there was an angry Chinese man glaring at him.

"What the hell were you thinking Maxwell?!" "Er, I wasn't?" Wrong answer, but he was still too distracted by Heero's touch to think of a loophole. "Exactly!" Wufei roared. "You never think! You always rush in without a plan! You could've died!" Every word was like a dagger. Even worse was the fact that Heero never said a word, he just clenched his hands into fists and his shoulders slumped. There wasn't anything else to do but head back to headquarters.

"That was the quietest ride I've ever been in. Wufei and Heero didn't even speak or even look at me. After getting chewed out by Lady Une, I left right away." It was two o'clock now, and a much larger crowd had gathered around Duo. James was beyond fascinated. Usually Duo's problems were the same thing, or rather the same person. Every day for the last two years Duo had been coming to this club after work, and it had been a long time since he had complained about a case.

"Ye didn' even tell 'em ye were leavin'?" James was more incredulous than anything else, and his emotion was spreading to the crowd around them. Duo scowled at his drink, this time a Bloody Mary, and took a sip from the glass. "What did ye expect me ta do? They were so pissed off at me I couldn't stay."

James slammed his palms on the counter, looking point-blank into Duo's eyes. "Duo you idiot!" It was spoken as if it were something about the weather instead of an insult. "Do ye have ANY idea why they acted tha' way?" Duo shook his head no, eyes wide as he leaned away from the snarling bartender. James growled, frustrated beyond belief. "They were worried about you, ye fool!"

Duo blinked. Then blinked. Then blinked again. "Really?" It took all of James's willpower not to leap over the counter and give into the urge to strangle the ignoramus. Instead, he sighed and threaded his fingers through his hair in an exhausted acceptance motion. "Yes Duo, really. The only reason they acted that way was because they were worried. Different people show it different ways."

Duo chuckled tiredly. "I suppose my leaving didn't help anything then." James looked steadily into Duo's eyes. "I know my advice has really sucked over the years, but I know I'm right on this one. You've been gone for two hours and they're pro'lly panicking. Go back and apologize fer leavin'." He grabbed the still half-full glass. "An' no more alcohol today. I know it ain't good advice fer a bartender to tell, but drownin' yer sorrows in a glass ain't the way ta cheer yerself up."

Duo issued a half-hearted protest before he gave up and agreed. "But how am I supposed to get back? I walked, remember?" "What? Not wantin' ta walk 'nother hour back?" Duo obviously wasn't going to dignify that with a response, so James sighed and drew an object out of his pocket. "I know I still owe ye fer fixin' 'er up las' month, so ye can borrow my car." Duo reached for the keys eagerly.

Because James was so protective of his 'baby', it had been hell to let Duo tinker with it the last month. He hadn't ever been thanked, but now made up for it. "Sweet! I'll bring 'er back tomorrow." James scowled. "Ye better. I see one scratch an' yer a dead man!" Duo just sent a wave over his shoulder, already leaving the club.

An hour walking (if you're just shuffling along reluctantly as Duo was), Headquarters to or from _Perfect Blue_ was fifteen minutes driving. With that fact in mind, Duo reached it in five (using driving usually only seen stunt junkies do of course). Headquarters was usually swarming with activity, whether it was people sneaking off for a break or setting out on a case, but the frenzy now encountered was pandemonium.

Feeling like he had suddenly stepped into another dimension, Duo tapped an acquaintance on the shoulder. "What's going on?" The woman's eyes appeared to bug out and she dragged him off to the side immediately. "Do you have ANY idea how many people are searching for you? Your friends have ordered that the whole building be searched with a fine-toothed comb!"

Duo blinked. That explained the craziness and also verified James's theory. The woman tugged on his sleeve. "C'mon! They're in your office." Sneaking a peek before entering, he shooed the woman off with a "I don't want you in trouble too." The moment he saw, he withdrew and winced. Yeah, James was definitely right. The office was in disarray and all of his shelves had been pulled out and their contents spilled.

The feeling of being in an alternate dimension only intensified as he say Heero wearing a hole in the floor with his pacing (which was hard to do considering it was a wooden floor). Wufei just looked irritable, and followed Heero's movement with his eyes. "Stop your pacing or I'll stop you from it." He informed, more like threatened, and he certainly looked like he'd follow through with it.

Heero stopped pacing a moment, if only to send his patented Deathglare towards Wufei. "I'll pace if I want to Chang." He snarled before resuming his pacing. Wufei sighed, massaging his temples. "Look, I'm sure he just went out for some fresh air." "For two hours? If he's not back in ten minutes I'm placing an APB." Duo cocked his head, curious to hear more.

"Don't rush to conclusions. He will be back in another half-hour at most. You know how he gets when he's frustrated." Heero sighed, a strange sound from the normally stoic Japanese. "I know, that's why I'm so worried." Duo nearly imitated a fish. Back up a moment! Heero **admitted** to worrying about him?

"He's just upset that he got caught. He probably blames himself." "More like he thinks we blame him." The pacing had stopped for a moment, and Heero continued. "He can really be a baka sometimes." "Yes, but that's why you like him, isn't it?" Duo felt faint. Heero liked him? The talking had stopped and the pacing resumed, so Duo figured the only way to find out what was going on was to enter the room.

Time seemed to stop as he stepped in. Heero and Wufei paused mid-motion, and he sent them a sheepish smile. "I'm supposed to apologize for running off." His words seemed to break the trance, and Heero was instantly at his side. "Where did you go? Are you hurt? Why were you gone so long?" Gods, Heero really could be a mother hen sometimes. Duo shushed him with a fingertip to Heero's lips.

"I'm fine. I just had to work out some problems. It took longer than expected." Heero took Duo by the shoulders gently. "I'm sorry if anything I said or did offended you." Duo smiled, and placed his own hand over one of Heero's. "Don't worry. You didn't offend me." Heero sighed and withdrew a bit, but not so much as to not still be touching Duo.

"I was so worried when you jumped down and got taken I thought my heart would stop. I care about you Duo. I can't really explain it, but when you come near I am…happy. A warm feeling emanates from" Heero tapped his chest, where his heart was. "Here. When you disappeared, it felt so empty. Please Duo, just don't leave me."

Duo's heart fluttered, and he brought Heero's face an inch down to his own. It was taking a large risk, but if that feeling Heero described was what he thought it was; he would have to take it.

"I know what you mean, Heero." Heero's breath was so warm on his face. "I've been feeling that way about you for years." Closing his eyes with a flutter and tilting his head just slightly, Duo closed the difference between them.

Sensation of ecstasy spread from his lips to his toes with a pleasant tingle. It was chaste, as most first kisses go, but Heero seemed more than happy to slip his arms around Duo's middle and claiming his lips as his own again.

Hearing a chuckle that evolved into guffaws, Duo and Heero turned to their interrupter irritably. "You have no idea how funny it is to me that you've been chasing each other for years and only find out about it now!" In a completely unWufei-like manner (not that anyone was actually acting like themselves), Wufei winked slyly and slipped himself out the door. "And don't forget to use protection!"

Duo and Heero both turned red and scooted back an inch. "I don't think…" Heero started, and faltered. Duo nodded. "Not yet. When we've had time to discover this more." Heero looked at him strangely, and Duo gave him a warm smile. "This. Us. Our relationship." Heero let a small smile of his own grace his lips. "Relationship?" Duo nodded, wondering if that was the right thing to say.

Apparently it was, because he was pulled into a much more passionate kiss not a moment later. "You know," Heero started as he pulled away for a second, "I think I'm going to like this relationship thing." Duo chuckled, bringing their foreheads together gently. "Me too. After all, we have a long time ahead of us to work out the kinks. Until that time though, I'll still enjoy arguing with you over what to watch on TV or where to go for our date tomorrow night."

Heero clasped Duo's hands in his own and stared into violet eyes that he was so fond of. "I'll pick you up at seven. Until then, I suggest you start on the accident report for the man you sent to the hospital instead of letting your hands wander." Duo smiled, sticking his tongue out teasingly. "Spoilsport." "Don't you know it. Now start." Things would work out, they always seemed to, and Duo knew he'd have a lot to tell to his audience at _Perfect Blue_ in two days.


End file.
